


Surface Life

by st3ambot



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Frisk Uses Sign Language, Gender-Neutral Frisk, Multi, Mute Frisk, No More Resets, Post-Endgame, Post-Pacifist Route, Selectively Mute Frisk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-05-17 08:27:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5861596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/st3ambot/pseuds/st3ambot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of connected stories that revolve around the life of the main cast about a year-ish after the barrier was broken. Mostly Sans.</p><p>Eventual Sanstablook, some background Torgore, and Flowey might come into the mix later. It's all about what I feel like writing, haha.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Party

**Author's Note:**

> Find me at septipliers.tumblr.com

The surface world was all Sans had hoped for and more.

 

It was springtime when the barrier was broken for the final time - no more resets. Frisk had signed to all of them that among humans, spring was thought of as a time for new beginnings. The monsters had liked that. The short skeleton remembered how it felt to look upon the sunset, feeling real warmth glisten off of his bones. The feeling was indescribable, but even better was seeing the looks on everyone elses’ faces. Toriel, his favourite joke-telling companion, looked as though she was ready to cry as she held her adopted child in her arms. Undyne’s toothy grin still remained in his mind, along with how Alphys had stammered out a few scientific facts about why sunsets were so beautiful. He remembered Papyrus’ unconstrained excitement at the prospect of being the greatest skeleton the aboveground had ever seen, and Frisk, sweet young Frisk, looking at each one of their new friends with what could only be described as determination.

 

Determination to give these monsters the life they all deserved after so many years trapped. Sans smiled fondly at the memories as the child in question roused him out of his reverie, poking him with a shy look on their face.

 

“Hey there kiddo,” he chuckled affectionately, opening one eye. “What can I do for ya?”

 

Frisk quickly signed, ‘ _dinner’_ , and helped pull the skeleton off the battered couch he’d been reclining on before dragging him into the small dining room. Alphys, Undyne and Toriel were already seated around rickety wooden table. Sans’ smile faltered, but only for a moment. Since monsters returned to the surface, it appeared that the humans had separated into two distinct groups: those that welcomed monsters, and those that did not. For the most part, he found, most humans were tolerant, but uncomfortable. Trying to buy a house had been a right pain - some landlords had no issue giving monsters the same price as humans, but unfortunately that was still far out of many monsters’ price ranges. The ones that offered cheaper housing often gave the other species glares and scathing looks, making them feel nervous in what should have been their home.

 

Frisk had chosen to stay with Toriel, and suggested a short-term solution. This run-down old house that they’d found wasn’t a luxury by any means, but it was cheap, it was cozy, and it was in a convenient enough spot in the city. The five monsters and the child had opted to all live together until they could find more permanent housing solutions, and while there was the odd frustration here and there, they all enjoyed their mis-matched family. And besides, the house was big enough to go somewhere else if you were peeved.

 

Sans settled down at his spot - the end opposite Toriel, between Alphys and his brother.

 

Speaking of which…

 

“Where’s Papyrus?” the skeleton asked with a yawn. They were having spaghetti, which Undyne proudly announced she’d helped to make. It wasn’t often Papyrus would miss an opportunity to do the same.

 

“H-he’s up i-i-in his room, working out… ah… working out some n-new puzzles, I believe,” Alphys murmured timidly, twirling the pasta around her fork.

 

“YO! PAP! GET DOWN HERE FOR SOME GRUB!” Undyne’s booming voice rang through the house, and after a few seconds, Papyrus’ did the same as he bounded down the feeble stairs. Toriel gave him a motherly smile as he sat down next to Frisk, and the group ate dinner in silence.

 

Once the meal was nearly done, a light pattering from Frisk’s spot grabbed everyone’s attention. They straightened their back a little, and began signing with a small smile.

 

_‘It’s been almost one year since we came to the surface,’_

 

“That’s true!” Undyne pumped the air with her fist. “All thanks to you, kid!”

 

Frisk waited patiently to start signing again. _‘I want to have a party! To invite some of the other monsters here to celebrate.’_

 

They glanced at Toriel as they said this - in the end, it would be their furry mother’s decision, as she was the head of the home.

 

“That sounds like an excellent idea!” Papyrus shouted with a grin.

 

Undyne nodded in agreement. “It has been a while since I saw some of the old faces. What do you think, Alphy?”

 

The little dinosaur shrugged with a blush. “W-well…. I’m n-not one for parties but… uh… I s-suppose it might be nice to see Mettaton again I guess?”

 

Sans chimed in, “If we did, I’m sure we could convince Grillbz to bring some drinks. And Muffet would never say no to getting people to eat her sweets.”

 

With renewed enthusiasm, Frisk turned back to their mother. _‘Please, mother?’_

 

Toriel’s face lit up, and with a smile she kissed the small child’s forehead. “That sounds wonderful, dear. However, because this party is your idea, you’ll need to do quite a bit of cleaning around the house.”

 

Frisk clapped their hands together and made a small noise in excitement as they nodded. They and Papyrus helped clear the table in record time so that the two of them could begin drawing out invitations to various monsters. Sans decided to stay and watch them while the others crowded into the cramped living room - their usual post-dinner ritual. Tori took a seat in her grand rocking chair and opened a rather large book - presumably about snails. Undyne and Alphys curled up together and turned on the latest episode of their favourite anime. Life wasn’t perfect, Sans thought with a smile, but it was good.

 

He peered over to Papyrus as his brother let out an irritated huff. “Sans!” he whined. “I cannot think of who to invite!”

 

“What about Doggo?” Sans suggested with a smirk. “I’m sure he’d appreciate it if you threw him a bone.”

 

“SANS! OH MY GOD!”

 

“You’re smiling.”

 

“Only because that’s a good idea.”

 

He watched as his brother began furiously scribbling onto the card. He wasn’t sure Doggo would actually be able to see the card, but knew he’d appreciate the gesture. Back in Snowdin, the brothers had both become fast friends with most of the canine members of the Royal Guard, but most of the friendships between monsters had waned following the transition to the surface. Time was money now, and money was scarce.

 

The short skeleton got up from his chair and moved between his two favourite people to see what kind of masterpieces they were creating. Frisk was drawing a rather impressive picture of them and Monster Kid racing around the meager backyard the house had. Sans smiled. Frisk rather liked going to school, and in their class was a few monsters and many humans, but through it all they had stayed loyal to their best friend.

 

The taller skeleton had finished his picture of the Guard - and Sans had to admit, his brother had quite the artistic talent. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised; Papyrus had spent enough time as a young skeleton drawing in the snow of their home town. Not to mention the many snow Papyruses he had built until he’d gotten it just right. Lesser Dog had been an interesting teacher.

 

“What do you think, brother?” Papyrus jovially handed him the card. “I do believe that the GREAT PAPYRUS will be a phenomenal party host.”

 

Frisk nodded enthusiastically, giving their friend a thumbs up as they, too, admired the artwork.

 

Sans soon found himself ready for bed, and with a smile and a wave he retired to his sparse room for the night. It didn’t look much different than his room in Snowdin; about the same size and colour, with the same dusty old treadmill in the middle of it. His telescope and some blueprints were thrown into a corner, along with varying books strewn about the floor. He settled down on his bed and gazed up at the sky - not glowing rocks, but actual, beautiful stars. He’d never get tired of seeing them.

 

Listening to make sure there was no risk of anyone coming into his room uninvited, the small skeleton lifted up his mattress to reveal a tattered, faded photograph, with three smiling faces. Across the white space of the bottom was his own messy handwriting: “Don’t Forget.”

 

His eyes went completely dark, but he gave a small smile and stared at one face in particular for a few long moments.

 

“I’ll never forget you,” he murmured, tucking the photo back under the mattress, and using his magic to flick off the light.


	2. Reset

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me at septipliers.tumblr.com

There was a familiar darkness enveloping him. Echoing voices sounded murky, and he couldn’t see a damn thing. It was as though someone had pulled his hood over his eyes and gave him a push, sending him stumbling into…

 

…a snow bank?

 

Sans pulled himself out of the snow and tried to make sense of where he was.

 

_N o . . ._

 

Those trees…

 

_P l e a s e , p l e a s e , p l e a s e . . ._

 

That path…

 

He'd never wanted to see this god-forsaken place again.

 

They’d promised him. Frisk had promised him that after they broke the barrier the final time, they lost the power to reset. There would be no more going back. No more Chara. No more underground.

 

Sans felt his bones begin to quiver as he looked around the snowy forest he had once called home, cold sweat dripping down his spine. He felt blue tears prick at his quickly-dimming eyes, blurring the snow and the trees and even his old sentry station together into a swirling nightmare of colours.

 

“Frisk…” he whispered, his teeth chattering. He balled his hand into a fist, and punched the icy cold drift he’d landed in. “Frisk, you _promised_ , kid, you _p r o m i s e d . . ._ ”

 

He felt numb, sick to his stomach. Had Frisk lied to him? Had somebody else figured out how to reset?

 

Overhead, the stones were glittering, just as dead and underwhelming as they had always been. The sky above had always held promises of life beyond, mysteries among the cosmos. Down here, there was only rock to be gazed at, making one feel rather claustrophobic if they stared at it for long enough. The skeleton managed a weak smile. He’d always have that last memory of the stars, at least.

 

He knelt there in the snow for what felt like forever, staring up at those stones and willing himself to forget that this was a reset timeline, forget about reaching the surface. Even the snow down here was duller than aboveground. The perpetual covering of the forest seemed slushy and gray compared to the powdery white fluff he’d seen above. The wind was limp and lifeless, and it felt as though everything was shrouded in shadows now that the sun was no longer touching his bones. He felt a feeble wail build up in the back of his non-existent throat, but pushed it down, allowing only the smallest of whimpers to escape. He shouldn’t be here. How could he be here?

 

“There you are, you lazybones.”

 

A voice roused Sans out of his thoughts. He allowed his fake grin to return as he pulled himself out of the snowdrift, turning to face his younger brother. He looked… well, the same as always - his bones neatly polished, his cape blowing in the wind…

 

But instead of the usual look of determination across his skull, Papyrus looked rather stoic. It unnerved Sans, but he simply grinned wider at his brother, hoping he wouldn’t notice anything was amiss.

 

“You’re pathetic, Sans.”

 

His smile faltered at the quiet remark. “Wh-what?”

 

The taller skeleton took a menacing step closer, his eyes locked on his brother’s. “You’re _lazy_ , and _weak_ , Sans.”

 

Sans couldn’t contain the hurt look that crossed his face. He was used to Papyrus complaining about his lack of work ethic, but never had he heard Papyrus’ voice filled with such hated. He took a step back, the cold snow pressing into his spice and making him shiver. “Pap, what are you-”

 

“This is all _your_ fault, _brother_.” Papyrus was seething, and yet his voice was still uncharacteristically soft as he spit out the last word. “This happened because of you.”

 

The short monster took a moment to try and understand his brother. Did Papyrus know about the resets? About the timelines? About Frisk? He tried to ask some of his questions, to say anything, but not a sound would come out. Papyrus simply towered over him, his eye sockets glittering with contempt.

 

His expression remained unchanged as a sharp knife was plunged through his ribcage.

 

“ _N O !_ ” Sans found his voice, and it cracked terribly. Chara - or was that Frisk? - peeked out from behind his brother before giving a small giggle and disappearing into the looming shadows of the trees. He didn’t care. He had to help Papyrus. His breathing became shallower as the white pinpricks of his eyes disappeared, to be replaced with darkness in one and a glowing blue and cyan iris in his other. Papyrus leaned forward as his knees buckled, and it felt as though time was moving in slow motion as Sans reached to steady the younger skeleton.

 

“Pap… Pap, it’s okay. It’s okay, Pap, I’m here… Papyrus I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

 

“I’m going to die again and _again_ _and again_ , Sans.” His brother’s voice remained laced with pained malice as he weakly attempted to push away the other skeleton. “Because you won’t do _anything_ to stop them.”

 

“No, Pap… I… I’m trying…” he whimpered, willing his brother to just hold on. To make it through just one timeline. “Please, Pappy, please, don’t…”

 

Papyrus managed a weak laugh as his body began to turn to dust, pulled away by the cold wind of the forest. “You’re pathetic, Sans. You couldn’t save him… and you couldn’t save me… this is all. _Your_. _F a u l t ._ ”

 

Him?

 

Papyrus was staring at something behind both of them, behind the snow bank that seemed to be growing larger and larger until it rivaled the height of the trees. Internally, Sans told himself not to look, to focus everything on helping his brother - and yet, something pulled him around anyways.

 

It was him.

 

“G-…Ga-…” the short skeleton stammered, his voice barely working once again. The taller figure was a mess of darkness and shapes, and he was horribly distorted and disfigured, and yet Sans knew he could recognize him anywhere. He took a step towards the other monster, reaching out his hand pathetically and slowly… just as he had done the day he fell…

 

A loud noise rumbled behind his turned back - he caught nothing more than a quick, dark burst, before small specks of dust fluttered delicately towards the snow. Papyrus was gone.

 

Sans began shaking uncontrollably as the forest seemed to close in on him. He reached for his brother’s ashes, but they were carried away by the wind, increasing in its intensity. He turned towards the other figure in time to see his face and hands begin melting as he let out a horrific shriek that shook the trees. In his peripheral vision he saw red eyes watching his every move, and horrible, dead golden flowers bursting up through the snow and grasping at his bones with slimy, thorned vines.

 

Both figures were gone, their ashes being whipped around by the wind and leaving Sans unable to breathe, to think. The vines tugged at him, pulling him deeper under the billowing ashes, the frigid ground, those red eyes watching him, waiting for him…

 

Sans jolted awake with a gasp, his heard beating a thousand miles an hour. He was sitting in his bed, blankets kicked to the floor. His clothes were soaked with a cold sweat, but he was safe. He was home.

 

Rubbing his eyes as he willed himself to calm down, he took solace in the brilliant sun shining in through the window. He was still here. Chara was gone.

 

A gentle pitter-patter at his door made him jump, but he gave a smile as Frisk let themselves in the room uninvited. The kid had a knack for sensing others’ feelings.

 

They climbed on Sans’ bed and wrapped their arms around the skeleton. _‘I heard you wake up, uncle.’_ They signed worriedly. _‘Sounded like you had a bad dream.’_

 

Sans sighed as his smile shrank. Frisk was the only other one that could remember the other timelines - not fully, neither of them could, but bits and pieces remained. Yet, he couldn’t vent his feelings onto them - time-traveler or not, they were still just a kid, and he had to look out for them.

 

“It’s… I’m alright, kiddo.” The skeleton managed a weak chuckle. “You still promise that there won’t be any more resetting?”

 

Frisk nodded earnestly before holding the monster in another strong embrace. They gave him a gentle kiss on the head as they left the room, giving him some time to himself.

 

He took his time getting dressed and ready for the day, knowing and dreading the type of day it would be. The kind it always was after a particularly terrible dream.

 

He dragged himself into his jogging pants - though the weather was getting warmer, today looked to be an unusually chilly spring day, too cool for his usual dress of basketball shorts. Grabbing the picture from underneath his mattress once again, Sans toyed with the idea of shoving it into his hoodie pocket before reluctantly choosing to simply stare at it for a while longer this morning. If someone saw it, it would raise a lot more questions than he was willing to answer today.

 

With a sigh, he figured he should get on with his day, even if he had to drag himself through it. Besides, he thought, the smell of Toriel’s waffles downstairs seemed to be calling his name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still going slow. Sans has a bad time - er, a bad dream. I really like the thought of them all living together. Seems cute to me, hehe c:


	3. Preparation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been trying to get this out for a while, but between a new semester at school starting and my granddad being in hospital for about a week, it's been tough. Everything's smoothed out and life is going well now, so expect regular updates, friends! Enjoy!

Frisk was almost always completely stoic and unmoving - even at their most excited or upset, they never gave more than a simple grin or frown. Their unbridled excitement for this party, then, told the monsters around the house just how excited they were to see all their friends once again. How much they truly loved being around monsters.

 

The invitations had all been sent - painstakingly done by both themself and Papyrus, with a bit of help from Alphys and Undyne when writing to certain monsters the other two knew well. There was, however, one left… and Frisk wasn’t sure whether it should be sent or not.

 

Catching the kid’s troubled look, Undyne slid into the seat beside theirs at the dining room table. “Heya boss - what’s eatin’ you?”

 

Frisk nervously looked around - they weren’t sure if anyone was listening in.

 

The fish monster chuckled and put her hand on her friend’s back. “Pap and Alphy are picking out decorations, Sans is… well, somewhere… and Tori’s out getting some ingredients for that pie she wants to bake.”

 

Alarmed, Frisk quickly signed, _‘She’s out alone?’_

 

Undyne smiled gently, something rather uncharacteristic for the rambunctious former-guard. “She would’ve taken Sans with her, but you know how he gets in the store - you can’t get him out of the damn condiments aisle!”

 

The mute child still looked uneasy, but Alphys reassured them that Toriel would be fine - more than a few monsters shopped at the grocery store around here, and most of the humans were polite.

 

“Now, c’mon,” she urged again. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

 

_‘I want to invite Asgore to the party, but I don’t know how mom would feel…’_

 

Undyne thought for a moment with a grunt. That certainly was a pickle. “I wouldn’t mind Gorey being there myself. He’s a good friend. But I don’t want Toriel feeling uncomfortable any more than you do.”

 

The pair sat in silence for a moment before Frisk looked up at the muscular woman with a tender smile. _‘I’ll ask her. It’s better than going behind her back.’_

 

The rest of the house was looking wonderful - definitely fit for a party. Toriel said the same when she returned from the store, a wide smile across her fluffy face as she grabbed Frisk’s hand. The child looked immensely pleased with themself and all their friends, but a knot formed in their stomach as they thought about asking their mother about Asgore.

 

Dinner went about the same as usual - some sort of pasta dish concocted by The Great Papyrus and Undyne, and the lot of them excitedly talking about old friends they were excited to see. Alphys was wondering whether Mettaton would be there - he’d pushed his way into the limelight above ground, much to the chagrin of many producers, and the delight of many monsters. Sans chuckled and mentioned that the robot had probably _“met a ton”_ of new friends, and Papyrus screeched and covered Frisk in spaghetti as he stood up in indignation. Nothing out of the ordinary.

 

Frisk noticed Undyne shooting them sympathetic glances throughout the duration of the meal. As boisterous as she was, the tough monster truly did care about her friends’ feelings and often got protective over them. Frisk smiled at thought. Toriel and Undyne seem as different as fish to goats, and yet the two of them were so alike with their values.

 

And Undyne liked Asgore, Frisk thought. Maybe in time, Toriel could again, too.

 

Tired from their day of work, nobody wanted to clear the table, and so Sans used his magic to carry the dishes to the kitchen as the rest of the group emulated his usual laziness and slumped into the living room.

 

Alphys pulled Frisk aside, back into the dining room as they were thinking of a good way to carefully ask Toriel about inviting her ex to the get-together.

 

“H-hey… Frisk…” the little lizard stammered, a slight blush crossing her scaley cheeks. “U-U-Undyne was t-telling me that you wanted to invite… ah… Asgore to th-the party… and that you wanna ask Toriel… uh… I j-just… w-wanted to say that… that… that, uh, I think that’s a r-really good idea. I-I’d really… really like him th-there.”

 

“I suppose everyone would, wouldn’t they?” The voice came from behind the two of them. Frisk and Alphys jumped apart as though there were hot coals beneath their feet and turned to look at a forlorn Toriel standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Neither of them had noticed she wasn’t sitting in her usual chair in the living room.

 

“T-T-Toriel…” Alphys murmured, her eyes darting between the furry queen and her child. Frisk kept their eyes trained on their mother, only looking away as the scientist stuttered something about Undyne calling her to watch some anime.

 

Toriel gave Frisk a dejected smile as she motioned for her child to sit at the table with her. Frisk did their best to look everywhere in the room but at their mother.

 

“Frisk… you must understand that the last thing I want is to ruin your good time.” Her sweet voice at last spoke up. The only other noises were the murmur of the television in the next room over and the muted conversation of the other monsters. It was just the two of them.

 

‘Mom. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.’

 

The queen gave one of her signature tender smiles. “I know that. And I appreciate your concern, my child. It’s just… he… Asgore…”

 

A single tear left a small dark spot where it splashed onto her purple dress. Frisk wrapped their mother in a delicate hug for a few long moments before looking at her again, their face unreadable as they began madly signing.

 

_‘Asgore has done some bad things. Terrible things. Please don’t think I’m overlooking them. But, mom, you loved him once. Maybe you won’t ever love him again, and that’s okay, but do you really want to shut him away forever? He was kind to me, mother. I know he didn’t want to hurt me. It isn’t my place to stand up for him, and only he can say why he did what he did but -’_

 

Toriel held up a paw, signaling for her child to stop, and then wrapped the paw around Frisk’s hand. Neither said anything for a long while.

 

“Asgore… he… he killed children, Frisk.”

 

Frisk nodded sadly, their grip on their mother’s paw tightening as they searched her face. Where was she going with this?

 

“All those kids… Frisk… they could’ve been your siblings.”

 

The goat monster idly ran a few long claws through the long white fur of her ears, not looking at the child before whispering, “they could have been your friends.”

 

Out of the corner of their eye, Frisk saw Sans approach the dining room but quickly turn around as he saw the scene unfolding. Frisk simply held Toriel as she let out shaky breaths - her tears, the child figured, had all been spent long ago. They didn’t know how long they sat there, and they wondered if this was the first time Toriel had allowed another soul to see her grief - even if it was held back so not to be released onto a child.

 

“Frisk…” Toriel said finally, pulling the small child into her lap as she rubbed their head. “You know what he’s done, my child… do you think he deserves… mercy?”

 

Without hesitation, the mute child gave a silent nod, and leaned in to kiss their mother on the cheek as a contemplative look crossed her face.

 

_‘You don’t have to talk to him at the party, if you don’t want,’_ Frisk signed timidly.

 

“No, I, ahh… My child… You always see the good in everyone… and you forgive even those that… I believed had given up their rights to forgiveness long ago. You may invite Asgore. I will act polite.”

 

The two of them spent the rest of the evening together in the kitchen - after, of course, Frisk had assured Sans he was more than welcome to grab some popcorn now.

 

The two simply stayed in the kitchen, talking and cuddling as only mother and child could, until Frisk fell asleep and Toriel carried them to bed - reflecting again, just how lucky she was that this child was hers.


	4. Asgore

Since it was a little too late to send Asgore an invite by mail, Frisk drew one up and asked Undyne to take them over the following day. She was just as excited as her small friend that the former king was allowed to be invited, and drove over once Asgore was home from work.

 

Undyne constantly talked of how she couldn’t wait to get a motorbike once she and Alphys had saved up enough money - Alphys was taking full-time online courses to get her degree in robotics and engineering, and Undyne was a part-time fitness instructor at a local gym. Once the two of them were living in the riches, she would always brag, the first thing she’d buy was a sick motorbike to match Papyrus’ cool convertible. When Papyrus had a convertible.

 

Toriel firmly stated that Frisk would not be driven around on the motorcycle.

 

For now, the mis-matched family shared a run-down minivan that could comfortably hold the six of them with two extra seats, and Frisk found they quite enjoyed the way the van would jerk and rumble even on the smooth pavement of the road to Asgore’s home.

 

“This is the place, kid,” Undyne said with uncontained excitement.

 

Frisk turned to the fish monster seriously. _‘You can’t talk to him too much. You have to save that for the party!’_

Humouring the kid, Undyne nodded and replied, “you got it, boss.”

 

Asgore lived in a rather nice apartment - of course, being the king back underground, he could afford to have a bit more luxury, even though he had done his best to give much of his money to the poorer monsters from his kingdom. Frisk took careful note of the shiny floors of the lobby, and the distinct smell of lemon pledge that followed them out of the elevator and down the hall. It reminded them of Shyren’s sister.

 

“Howdy, you two!”

 

Asgore hadn’t changed much since Frisk had last seen him, when the barrier was broken. Other than losing a small amount of weight, and his eyes looking much less tired and weary, he looked just the same as the king who Frisk had refused to fight - the last time around, anyways…

 

He pulled Undyne into a jolly hug the moment he saw the former captain, and gave the child a sweet smile, unsure of how to greet them.

 

Frisk decided for him, wrapping their little arms as far around him as far as they could reach and matched his smile with warmth.

 

“Come in, come in!” He laughed, his voice deep but soft. Undyne shot a hopeful smile at Frisk, as though they were the adult in charge rather than herself. With a giggle, the child nodded as Asgore prepared a teapot for the three of them.

 

Though his apartment was small - smaller than one would expect for the gentle giant - on nearly every surface was a vase filled with beautiful flower arrangements, with the golden flowers Asgore loved so dearly standing stark and complimenting the buds and petals around them. Frisk noticed as the king puttered around the kitchen that many of his cupboards were stuffed full with boxes and containers of tea bags, both types from the underground and some from the surface world that Asgore was beginning to experiment with. One cupboard simply held a few mugs in a variety of monster-esque shapes. Frisk couldn’t help but notice the one Asgore was using himself slightly resembled Toriel, with one of the drooping ears forming the handle.

 

Asgore noticed the child staring at the teacups and called them over.

 

“Close your eyes,” he smiled. His rumbling voice was nearly as soothing as the scent of golden flower tea that wafted through the air.

 

Allowing them to open their eyes, he surprised Frisk with a small mug that looked surprisingly close to them. It didn’t look like it was intentionally made into the shape of a human head, but it appeared that way nonetheless. The markings on the cup mirrored the child’s own unmoving expression, and even the design coming down from the lip of the cup was the exact shade and shape of their chestnut hair.

 

_‘I love it,’_ they signed excitedly, their bouncing almost sending the mug and its contents right out or their hands. Asgore’s eyes lit up at the praise - Frisk wondered if he was still unsure of whether they forgave him.

 

The child caught Undyne beaming at the two of them as they wrapped Asgore up in another hug, and giggled as she turned away and scoffed something along the lines of “you’re both big weenies,” before throwing herself onto the couch. And breaking one of the springs inside it.

 

“Now,” the goat monster mused, sitting delicately on the couch beside his former guard, “what brings the two of you here today?”

 

Delicately placing the piping-hot tea on the coffee table beside them, Frisk pulled out the folded invitation they had carefully drawn and handed it to the king before sitting on his lap. His initial smile quickly changed to a look of worry as he glanced between his two guests.

 

“Tori… er, Toriel… she’s alright with this?”

 

Frisk gave him a thumbs up.

 

“The little boss here managed to swing her in favour of you. Beware the kid who speaks in hands, I guess - they can convince anyone of anything.”

 

Asgore’s worried look remained, but a gentle smile tugged at his lips once more. “A few days from now… I shouldn’t be busy…” he mused.

 

He asked Undyne whether he should bring some tea or flowers to use as decorations, yet his eyes went elsewhere. Frisk noticed his continual glances at a dusty picture frame on a bookshelf filled with books on baking. They felt a pang in their heart. It was the royal family, kids and all, smiling as though they hadn’t a care in the world. Even those red eyes that still haunted their dreams were filled with a subtle mirth, and yet it was Asgore’s eyes from all those years ago that kept Frisk’s attention. The picture couldn’t have been taken long before the passing of his two children, and so the king would most likely be the same age now as he was in the photograph, but the happiness in his eyes made him seem centuries younger. Even from a distance, it wasn’t hard to see the way his dark eyes were trained on Toriel in the old photograph, brimming with all the love he felt for her.

 

With how his old eyes now filled with the same emotion at every glimpse he grasped of the worn photo, it wasn’t hard for the child to see that even after all these years, his heart had room for no one but Toriel.

 

“C’mon, kiddo,” Undyne’s voice broke into their contemplation. “We oughtta get back. Don’t want your mom baking that pie without us!”

 

Asgore’s head snapped away from the photo where he had once again been drawn and focused on his friend. Frisk gave her a glare for her tactlessness that went unnoticed, but wrapped their hand around Asgore’s paw in comfort, just as they had done to their mother the previous night. With another hug and the promise to see him in a few short days, the pair raced down the hallway, both excited to be the first helper in the kitchen.

 

—

 

Asgore watched them go, seeing them off down the hall before he closed the door back into his meager apartment and crumbling to the ground. When he had first met Frisk, back in his throne room, he remembered the way his breath caught and he froze - they looked so similar, he could have sworn his adopted child was back from the dead. And just as he had convinced himself that this child was not his own, Frisk began to talk to him as they came to the surface. The delicate kindness, the sensitivity… it was as though Frisk had the body of one of his children, and the personality of the other.

 

But they didn’t.

 

The old king picked himself up and made a cup of tea that he simply stared into for the rest of the night. Every time he felt tears prick at his eyes once again, he willed himself to remember the feeling of the small child’s arms wrapped around him.

 

It filled him with determination.


	5. Arrival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this taking so long. I've been busy out of my mind with school and family, so I've only been able to work on this chapter for a little bit at a time. I don't think it's my best work, but it serves its purpose as a transition to the next bit of this story. And, hey, more Sans! Enjoy!

_Ding dong._

 

Sans watched from the couch as Frisk dashed to the door and swung it open. Ice Cap and Snowdrake stood at the door, the former having brought a crystalline hat resembling its own for the child. Sans smirked. Frisk had really helped the guy to start thinking about people besides himself. The two icy monsters stepped in the door, making the house feel cooler despite the warm spring day. Behind the pair came a loudly-complaining, oddly-shaped monster. _Huh_ , Sans thought.

 

_Jerry came, too._

 

Frisk simply smiled despite the monster’s complaints, and led the three of them on a tour of the quaint little house with joy. Despite his usual knack for entertainment, the party energy hadn’t quite permeated the short skeleton’s morning grogginess. He was much more content to sit with his coffee and wake up a little before he refamiliarized himself with all his old friends. They were steadily streaming in, and already the small townhouse was becoming more lively than normal - which was certainly saying something, given its regular inhabitants.

 

Some half hour later, a raspy old laugh came from behind the door. In a heartbeat, Undyne was at the door and nearly pulling the flimsy thing off it's hinges to wrap a grinning turtle into a tight hug. Sams smirked and shook his head as the strong fish dragged the elder into the dining room where she and Papyrus had been waiting all day. Sans followed them in, smiling at the way his brother was fawning over a bunny and a dragon, both with unusually large biceps.

 

He glanced out the window at the backyard, admiring the way the sunlight glistened off of the dewdrops here on the surface. Everything up here was so beautiful and bright - even Papyrus complained _slightly_ less about his boondoggling now that there was so much to look at.

 

Out of the corner of his eye socket, the little skeleton noticed Toriel sitting at the picnic table, idly playing with the peeling paint and glancing at the door nervously.

 

There weren't many monsters here yet, Sans noticed, and the ones that were seemed busy enough that they wouldn't notice if he excuse himself for a few moments. With a silent  _snap_ , he found himself behind his friend.

 

“Something got your _goat_ , Toriel?” 

 

The former queen yelped and whirled around before she recognized the short comedian. She offered a weak laugh and a warning glare and turned back to the door, though slid over to make some room for the little jester. She knew well enough that he wouldn't go away.

 

Sans frowned as he sat. “Normally you find my puns quite _humerus_ , Tori.”

 

Still the goat said nothing. Her eyes remained locked on the tiny flake of maroon paint in her hand as she twirled it around.

 

Wordlessly, the skeleton wrapped a bony arm around her shoulders and squeezed tight.

 

“Are you worried about seeing him?” he asked soothingly. The two had become fast friends after leaving the underground, enjoying the comfort of being able to tell jokes face-to-face rather than through frozen metal. Sans knew he would never be able to read and help people quite as well as Toriel did, but he considered the former queen a close friend, and he was willing to try his best.

 

The former queen let out a shaky breath before carefully nodding her head. “I know it’s… quite unlikely Asgore would try to speak to me, but…”

 

She trailed off, hunching further over the puny table.

 

“Sans, my friend… I have a question for you. Do you… do you think even the worst person can change? That anybody can become a good person, if they just try?”

 

Something stirred within Sans, as though he’d heard the words before, in another life. Heh. He probably had. He didn’t know how to answer, though, truthfully. He didn’t even know if _he_ was a good person. He would’ve killed Frisk the moment they left the ruins if he hadn’t made that promise, and yet, somehow, he loathed the thought of harming another soul. He frowned.

 

“I… I don’t know, Tori.”

 

Toriel gave a resigned chuckle and stared through her young friend - literally and figuratively. Her eyes swam with painful memories for a long moment before she blinked them away and her warm, motherly gaze returned once more.

 

“Sans,” Toriel murmured, her voice much calmer. “I have much to learn from such a young child.”

 

She stood up and walked to the back door, smiling sweetly at her confused friend. As she turned the handle, Frisk and Monster Kid came bounding past her, giant smiles plastered on their faces.

 

The two adults laughed, and Sans mentioned that he’d watch the two kids play outside. Frisk gave their mother a tight hug before she timidly stepped inside her house.

 

Frisk began to carefully pick a few flowering weeds from the edge of the garden as MK ran excitedly up to the skeleton.

 

“Yo!! You’re THE GREAT PAPYRUS’ brother, right?”

 

Sans gave a bemused smile to the child, but was cut off before he could answer.

 

“Oh, man! He’s SO cool! He makes the best spaghetti! And he’s SUPER tough - maybe even tougher than Undyne! Right, Frisk?”

 

The human walked over and nodded patiently, their smile growing with every word as they admired the wildflowers. It was uncanny how much they resembled their mother at times, Sans thought.

 

“I’m gonna learn to make my own battle body just like his! And he’s a master architect, right?! He built his very own sentry station! And - oh, man. Do you think he’d teach me how to make my own sentry station?” The kid was bouncing excitedly, and Sans had to admit the enthusiasm was contagious. Perhaps he was finally feeling that party energy.

 

“Why don’t we go ask him?”

 

Frisk gave a dejected look at the yard that they hadn’t had more than a minute to play in, but it quickly melted into a genuine smile as they saw the excitement threatening to bubble over from their best friend. If they had indulged their friend’s escapades when they were at risk of being slaughtered by Undyne, they could certainly see to it that MK got to see their newest hero at a party for monsters.

 

The moment Sans took the kids inside the house they disappeared hand-in-hand, as though they too had some sort of teleportation abilities he hadn’t known about. Papyrus had moved to the living room with Undyne, he noted, as the tall skeleton jumped to his feet just as the smaller lizard crashed to the floor. Before he could help pick the little one, up, however, they had bounded right back upright and were crawling all over his brother, asking him the multitude of questions they’d asked Sans only moments before.

 

Papyrus seemed stunned at first, but with a bit of encouragement from Undyne he found himself boasting and bragging as the kid hung off of every word, doing their best to copy their idol. For a moment, Paps locked eyes with his brother. Sans had to stop himself from letting loose a little giggle as he noticed Papyrus almost crying with joy.  _Baby bones_ , he thought fondly.

 

The small skeleton decided to head to the kitchen and see if Grillby had shown up. A strong, hot glass of ketchup sounded perfect at the moment.

 

He noticed his friend wiping glasses, as per usual - though with what, he never bothered to ask. Knowing it wasn't water was enough. The flaming bartender looked as though he was deep in a quiet conversation with Muffet about what sounded like spider cider, so he decided to wait before disturbing him. At the table sat Alphys and Asgore, neither saying much but both looking perfectly content in being around their friend.

 

“Hello, Sans,” came the king’s deep, rumbling greeting with a smile. His hair was brushed back and the old man indeed looked rather dapper. Sans put his drink to the back of his mind as he took a seat next to the goat

 

“A-Asgore and I were j-just talking about how, ahh… how jobs on the s-surface are s-so much different than they w-w-were underground!” Alphys stammered with a quick glance between the two men.

 

Sans nodded, complaining that humans didn’t seem to enjoy hot dogs as much as monsters did, despite them being made of a much better material, but Alphys was absolutely enraptured by all the technological advancements they had on the surface. Sans had to admit that the telescopes up here were much better than the ones underground, and actually had some sort of use. He couldn't wait until he could afford a much fancier one than his own.

 

The three of them talked for a while about the differences between the worlds of monsters and humans, laughing and smiling. Sans noticed Toriel stiffly walk by with Frisk’s hand in hers at one point, and for the rest of the conversation he found that Asgore said less and less, a wistful look in his eye.

 

Someone poked their head in and mentioned that there was somebody at the door looking for Alphys, and so Sans and the former king were left alone.

 

After a few moments, the skeleton tried to awkwardly break the ice.

 

“Er… great party, huh?”

 

Asgore gave a small smile in reply.

 

 _Something about this seems familiar_ , Sans thought with a slight grin. Before he knew what he was doing, he had an arm wrapped around one of the king’s broad shoulders. Though he didn't know the old goat very well, it felt like the right thing to do in the moment.

 

Asgore gave a sad chuckle. “I should have prepared myself better. I knew she would be here, but… It’s just… not easy to lose the one you love.”

 

Sans tensed, a flash of blue appearing in his left eye for only a moment before he forced himself to blink it away. He wouldn’t remember that Sans, too, had felt that pain, and so the small skeleton knew he couldn’t hold that against him.

 

Delicately, he smiled at the king and murmured, “we’ve all done things we regret. And we can all be shown mercy.”

 

He’d decided that after the simple statement, he’d leave the old man alone - perhaps Frisk could come in and cheer him up - but a large _THUD_ from the front hall left him frozen in place. As he turned to give Asgore a bewildered look, a muffled squeak from Alphys reached his hollow bones. His eye began to glow once more, the small skeleton anxiously anticipating a monster-hating bigot breaking in, that god-forsaken flower from the undergroud, or perhaps Frisk had gotten a hold of the knives…?

 

With a snap of his bony phalanges, he reached the front door just in time to see a shiny silver celebrity slide into the room with an “OHHH YES~!! NOW THE PARTY HAS BEGUN, DARLINGS!”


	6. Different

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy shit.
> 
> so, in short, I've defeated a giant case of writer's block (or, I'm working through it. I don't think it's decided if it's done yet or not), I've graduated high school, I got a part-time job, and I got a new therapist.
> 
> So, I hope the few fans that this story has have endured the wait. Because I do apologize.
> 
> It's not a chapter that's particularly longer than the others, and it might seem a little choppy because I started it immediately after the last chapter and only just finished it today, but whatever, it introduces the cute romance, and now the goddamn party can be over within the next chapter or two and I can work on some of the flashback ideas I've had in my head for little Sansy.
> 
> So enjoy!
> 
> sidenote: there are a buttload of italics in this chapter ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Mettaton was always the centre of attention. He had fans all throughout the underground thanks to his drama-, romance-, and bloodshed-filled TV shows - even if none of those three things were really necessary for the majority of them - and his fame only went up after young Frisk had garnered even more ratings for the robotic star. Though he’d never admit it, he’d been rather nervous upon coming to the surface - humans already had their stars and idols, after all, and though he was unbelievably fabulous, well… how could he compete?

He’d been pleasantly surprised that all of his monster following had remained behind him aboveground, and even more so when plenty of humans had fought over being his agent, even agreeing to bring along his cousin and friends, too. For the first six months, he tried to keep around Alphys as much as possible - not only to check him for any needed repairs so he wouldn’t be offline more than necessary, but also because he rather liked having the nerdy little scientist around. Good for ratings or not, she was his best friend.

 

Eventually, however, his agent and their team had taken him to a bigger city, with bigger crowds and more adoring fans. It was truly lucky that he’d been back in town when the mail came with the invitation for his friends’ party. He realized, with a scrunch of his metallic nose, that had one of the interns his agents had running around been the one to pick up the mail that day, he probably wouldn’t even know about the party.

 

And so, here the star was, back where he started - well, sort of - returned to see his creator and all of his old friends.

 

Oh, and of course sign plenty of autographs.

 

Mettaton was _always_ the centre of attention.

 

 _So then why_ , thought his little ghost friend, _is everybody paying so much attention to me?_

 

Of course, that wasn’t to say his cousin was being completely ignored - Mettaton was _never_ ignored, he made sure of that himself. But once the initial surprise and excitement of Mettaton’s… grand entrance had died down, Napstablook had noticed more eyes on them than ever before. It was more than a little off-putting. Even when Mettaton stepped in to announce that the current focus was his wonderful cousin - Napstablook couldn’t be sure whether he was doing it for them or himself - still many eyes remained on the rather shy-looking ghost.

 

“Oh, _now_ I recognize you.”

 

A tall, furry white goat-lady approached the pair. The robot perked up from where he’d turned to huff indignantly at Alphys, but again his face fell when he realized the recognition was not for him.

 

Toriel clasped her hands together as she gave the anxious Napstablook a gentle smile. “I am Toriel. You would often bring me snails into the ruins, but I don’t believe I ever asked your name.” Monsters never were too keen on asking others about their names.

 

The phantom returned the smile awkwardly. “Oh… ohhh…” they murmured, eyes glancing about. “It’s nice that you… remember me…”

 

The former queen dispelled any lingering stares with her signature glare, making anyone who caught her gaze quickly find the floor intensely fascinating. Mettaton decided to take use of the moment and focus attention back on himself, and so nature was in balance again.

 

“Oh… I’m sorry… You didn’t have to make them all… look away…”

 

Before Toriel could reassure the ghost, Frisk came sprinting around the corner and grabbed both Blook and their famous cousin in a tight hug, surprising them. Mettaton reached a hand up to fix his hair, but thought better of it and instead ruffled the hair of his small friend.

 

“Hello there, darling! Took you long enough to come see me.” He winked at the child and planted a cold kiss on their forehead.

 

_‘Sorry. I didn’t want to leave while Papyrus was talking about his spaghetti techniques.’_

 

The answer seemed to satisfy the superstar, who promised he’d be back to spend more time with Frisk as soon as he was done catching up with Alphys.

 

The child turned to Napstablook and gave them the same gentle smile that had started their friendship. The ghost seemed rather ill at ease, and the short glances from every monster in the room certainly weren’t helping.

 

“Pay them no mind, little one,” Toriel offered sweetly. “They are all probably just wondering who could be coming into this party with the famous Mettaton.”

 

“Or maybe… nobody recognizes me… because I never really… got to know anybody…”

 

While their mother looked concerned, Frisk assured her with a nod that they would take care of their friend. And if anybody could make them feel better, it was the human.

 

_‘I’ll stay with you, so you don’t have to encounter anybody on your own.’_

 

Of course, this made the shy ghost start crying with a little smile, but Frisk never seemed to mind the tears

 

 _‘Hey,’_ they asked suddenly. _‘Would you like to meet my friend Monster Kid?’_

 

Napstablook glanced towards their cousin, then gave a cautious nod. Mettaton could more than handle being without them for a little while.

 

MK, as it turned out, was a bit too rambunctious for the little ghost to handle. Though the little lizard had a kind heart, they seemed much too intent on running around wildly while Napstablook preferred to lay on the ground. Not to mention, they just cried whenever the kid fell flat on their face.

 

They could see Frisk growing increasingly worried about them, and that did little to ease their anxiety. They couldn’t help but start blubbering once again as the child pulled them aside.

 

“Oh… I came to have a good time… to make some friends like I could never do underground… but… looks like it was another dead end…” They gave a gentle smile and giggled through the tears. “Get it… dead end? Because… well… I’m a ghost… heh heh…”

 

Within a split second, it seemed as though a light went off in little Frisk’s head as they pulled the tearful ghost around the crowded house. Before long they ended up back in the front hall, where everyone’s eyes were on Mettaton - including the slightly-annoyed glance of a short little skeleton, swigging his ketchup.

 

With a smile, Frisk tugged their ghost friend closer. They began to grow dimmer however, as they noticed a few pairs of eyes on them - trying to recognize them, perhaps?

 

The child gave the spirit as best a hug as they could despite phasing through them, and gave a little sign meant only for the shy monster - _‘Stay determined.’_

 

Napstablook decided that they’d try their hardest. For Frisk’s sake, and for their own.

 

Frisk motioned for them to wait just a few moments as they rushed off and furiously signed to the skeleton. When they noticed the short monster glance their way, they quickly evaded his eyes - and locked eyes with someone else.

 

Burgerpants looked much more mature since he’d started on tour with Mettaton, even branching away from the overbearing superstar at some point to pursue his own acting career. He gave a slight nod and a smile as he nodded at the ghost - though he and Mettaton never really saw eye-to-eye, they still respected one another, and Burgerpants was more than kind to Napstablook. Mettaton had even thought he’d had the slightest crush on them while the group was promoting his latest movie.

 

They turned away from Burgerpants, who had began fiddling with the joint in his mouth and searching for an escape route since Toriel had absolutely forbade smoking in the house, or around the children. The little ghost noticed Frisk and their friend walking hand-in-hand toward them, and they felt the slightest thrill in what would have been their stomach.

 

They knew him.

 

_‘Naps, this is Sans! He wanted to say hello!’_

 

“Heya,” Sans said with a wink. “The kid said you were havin’ a bad time, huh?”

 

“O-oh… well… I’m just… no good at making friends…”

 

“Heh, I’m sure that’s not true. My bro always thought that way about himself, but, well, look at him now.”

 

He motioned over to where Papyrus was surrounded by monsters, going over an elaborate (and probably embellished) story from when he was a guard in Snowdin town, chastising his lazy brother and staying sharp on the lookout for humans. Napstablook noticed Alphys and her girlfriend laughing and teasing the skeleton, and Monster Kid looking absolutely enraptured. Even Mettaton had taken a seat, for once content with not being the main star. They gave a warm smile.

 

“Your brother… seems pretty cool. Oh… if… that isn’t… weird to say…”

 

Sans’ face lit up as he glanced at Frisk, who gave him a tiny thumbs up in return. “He sure is! My bro is the coolest guy around!”

 

“I always felt the same about Mettaton…” Napstablook mused quietly as they looked over at their cousin. “Some people have always found him annoying but… you’ve gotta look out for your family…”

 

The little skeleton’s face had gained a crease of annoyance at the mention of the smug robot, but softened as they followed their new friend’s gaze. “Yeah,” he swallowed the lump in his throat as he looked back to Papyrus. “You definitely do.”

 

It was silent for a beat, and Frisk began to sweat.

 

_Please work. Please please please—_

 

“So, y’know, I’m pretty happy the kiddo here brought me over to ya. I was feelin’ pretty… bonely over here by myself.”

 

Another pause.

 

Napstablook simply stared at Sans for a moment. Their eyes seemed to grow wider.

 

And then they laughed. Tears streamed from their eyes - for once out of joy instead of sorrow, and they felt the attention of others turn to them as they did nothing to stifle the giggles, and they found they didn’t even care. Sans exchanged an ecstatic glance with their young human friend and began to laugh along, loud and joyful. As Napstablook blinked the tears away, they locked eyes with the skeleton and felt something fill them that they couldn’t put a name to if they tried.

 

As they gave him a gentle smile, and another giggle escaped them, they figured they wouldn’t mind life being a little bit different.


	7. Reunited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A filler chapter that is 95% dialogue and doesn't even make that much sense because nobody would get over killing children that quickly but hey I'm an Asgore sympathizer and pretty much every thought in this chapter is my own and I mostly just wanted some way to get the party over because I was tired of writing it.

One by one, the monsters were trickling out. It seemed as though many had rekindled old friendships and began new ones - Asgore even noticed a few in his kingdom who had never gotten along seemed to be giving the other a second chance, another start.

 

The thought made his SOUL warm, and he wondered if there were second chances for everybody.

 

He sat in the kitchen, not yet ready to leave. He could see through to the front hall, where Toriel was seeing off Muffet with a smile and a slice of her butterscotch-cinnamon pie. The two had been talking for the last hour about different recipes, and he hadn’t had a single chance to talk to his former wife. Now that the chance was about to be presented to him it seemed much more… daunting.

 

He had been the king of the whole underground; somebody who could smash a SOUL in a single blow; somebody who struck fear into the hearts of humans when he was just a boy first fighting in the War. But this… it had been hard enough keeping it together all day, being in her house that smelled like her, catching glimpses of her… he’d had a brief moment of weakness with Sans earlier on, and now it was all but threatening to spill out from him.

 

“You wanted to talk?”

 

The king snapped his head up - lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed the former queen approach the table. Her eyes wouldn’t meet his, and her paws fumbled for something to do as they gripped the back of one of the dining chairs.

 

“Tori… er, Toriel.” He murmured. He wasn’t quite sure what else to say.

 

“You’ve been… around all day. As though you wanted to say something,” she coughed awkwardly. “So…?”

 

The silence stretched out and both of the goats looked around, not meeting one another’s gaze. The noise from the various rooms where the party still chattered felt miles away.

 

“I should—,” Asgore said as he stood up from his seat.

 

“Listen—,” Toriel whispered at the same time.

 

They looked at each other.

 

“Y-you first.” The king pursed his lips.

 

“I… I don’t know what to say, Asgore.”

 

Hearing his name fall from her lips once again made his heart hurt, and he couldn’t stop the tears that dripped from his eyes. He clenched them closed. If he started to cry now, he’d never stop.

 

“I’m sorry, Toriel.”

 

Toriel remained quiet, her paws still grasping at one another awkwardly.

 

“I’m so, so sorry.”

 

The fire that had raged within the queen for many, many long years had been extinguished in a matter of seconds. Upon coming to the surface, she’d finally had her chance to snap at Asgore, to rage, to hurt him like he’d hurt her and too many children, too many people. But something had held her back, waiting for the right time. Now that the time was here, there was nothing she could do.

 

Asgore already knew what he did. And it was killing him.

 

“I’m a pathetic whelp, Tori. I did disgusting things out of anger and grief. I deluded myself into thinking perhaps… perhaps revenge would bring the two of them back. Like it could all be reset, or we could go back in time and be a family again. But… it never happened. It never could happen. And all the people I hurt… all the children… I don’t deserve any mercy. But then why do I want yours so badly…? I don’t even deserve to be alive. I wish those buttercups had taken me when they had the chance…”

 

“And left me to go through our childrens’ deaths by myself?” Toriel asked quietly.

 

The king raised his watery eyes to meet hers. “It ended up that way anyway, did it not?”

 

The former queen looked away once again as her tears matted the fur around her eyes. Everything ached as Asgore longed to wrap his arms around her, but he restrained himself.

 

“I’m so sorry, Toriel… I wish there was more to say.”

 

“It’s been so many years since I left you, Asgore… I’ve had so much time to think.”

 

“I’ve missed you every day…”

 

“I miss… who you were before…”

 

She trailed off and glared at her ex-husband half-heartedly. Another gush of tears spilled from him, and he nodded sadly.

 

“I’m working to be him again every single day.”

 

Another wave of silence passed, before Toriel timidly said, “I don’t hate you.”

 

“…Thank you.”

 

She thought back to how she felt the day after her children died. Scared. Trapped. Like nothing would ever be the same again.

 

And it wasn’t.

 

She didn’t know how to quell the rioting kingdom. Neither did Asgore.

 

He did what he thought he had to.

 

He made the wrong choice.

 

But he made that choice in a moment of grief to give the monsters hope again.

 

He didn’t have to kill humans.

 

But he didn’t have enough time to find an alternate solution.

 

“What you did to them wasn’t fair,” she breathed through her tears after another hearty pause. “But. I understand.”

 

“I can never forgive myself, Toriel.”

 

“They would want you to.”

 

“They…? The…”

 

“The children. All six of them.”

 

The two goat monsters looked longingly at one another. Slowly and tenderly, the former queen reached out to grab Asgore’s hand, wrapping both of her paws around it.

 

“And, in time, I think perhaps I will too.”

 

“…Tori…”

 

She cleared her throat. “It’s still Toriel for now… Dreemurr.”

 

A delicate, hopeful smile crossed his bearded face. “But…?”

 

“Perhaps.” Heat rose to her furry cheeks as Toriel glanced away. “Now get out of here. The party’s over,” she said with a smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cherish this goat.


	8. Flashback #1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one of the flashback chapters i've got ideas for. these explore the relationship between various characters (read: mostly Sans) and Gaster before he fell into his creation. I used that huge Undertale timeline image to get a feel for when this takes place, so kudos to the guy that created that! 
> 
> http://i.imgur.com/0MvxnyO.jpg

“Gaster.”

 

A lanky figure peered up from a microscope, the slightest bit of annoyance crossing his face. The king noticed this and gave him a signature delicate smile, prompting the first to do the same.

 

It was hard to ever really be upset with Asgore, even for somebody as focused on their work as W. D. Gaster.

 

The giant king sat across the worktable from his Royal Scientist and began to fiddle with some of the golden flowers on the table. The scientist almost muttered something that could easily translate to _‘keep your paws off of the specimens’_ , but he refrained.

 

“How is work on the CORE coming along?”

 

The scientist mustered up a tight smile and tried to make an affirming noise, hoping the king would take the subtle hint as he picked up a small screwdriver and resumed toying with the knobs on the microscope.

 

If he did, he ignored it.

 

“Gaster,” he said again.

 

With a resigned sigh, he looked at his boss once again. A tight line of concern creased the old goat’s brow, and the tall scientist had to push down the wave of sympathy threatening to wash over him. The king had lost his two children and his wife only a year and a half before. Of course he needed something to do, and someone to look after.

 

Even if he acted a little too much like a dad when Gaster was working to power the entire underground.

 

“Has Alphys been of use?”

 

Without hesitation, the scientist nodded. The little reptile, though lacking in social skills, was incredibly adept at working with robotics and having parts created right when Gaster needed them. He’d created an exam for the few monsters who were as scientifically inclined as himself, and she’d excelled in nearly all aspects. Her scores in monster biology, he’d worried, were rather abysmal, but it wasn’t as though she’d need to know much about it for the work she’d be doing. He’d started to teach his little protege what he knew, anyways, so that when she was the Royal Scientist she’d be a bit more well rounded.

 

Asgore was looking at him, an unreadable look on his face. Gaster shifted uncomfortably, and made a motion to indicate he needed to focus his attention back on his work, when Asgore quietly murmured,

 

“I’ve found you another lab assistant.”

 

The screwdriver clattered to the floor as his head snapped up to glare at the king. He met his gaze, unflinching.

 

“I won’t take no for an answer, Gaster. This CORE project has you exhausted, and the people are looking to you. If you can create something to power the underground, you may be able to create something to break the barrier.”

 

 _‘Sir,’_ he signed frantically, _‘that isn’t—’_

 

Asgore held up a massive paw. “They can’t have you walking around like a zombie, Gaster. And I _know_ you,” he interrupted as the scientist tried to protest again. “When Gerson and I would be practicing battle training, you’d be at a desk doing… well, something. We’d spar with Undyne and the other young hopefuls, and when we’d get back you’d still be working. You’re too determined to keep your focus on your work, 100% of the time.”

 

The lanky scientist sighed, tapping his fingers on the desk, looking at the knots through the holes in his hands. He knew the king was right. He had been exhausted lately, and while he was doing his best to balance work on the CORE and the general, everyday things that needed to be done for the underground, Alphys was taking on more and more of the day-to-day responsibility - and she barely knew what she was doing.

 

The silence lasted for a beat before Asgore tentatively went on. “He’s very bright - the smaller labs in New Home haven’t been able to keep up with him. Aced almost all of his tests, and they’re saying he’s on his way to a novel breakthrough in quantum physics.”

 

Slowly, Gaster picked up the screwdriver, examining the tool in his hands as he mulled over the king’s words.

 

“He’d be a real asset to the lab. Might even be able to help you with the CORE.”

 

The scientist tensed. _‘An assistant wouldn’t be able to comprehend how to work the core.’_

 

Asgore waved his hand, the slightest bit of irritation crossing his gaze. “Then you and Alphys can put him to work around the lab. I’ve already arranged a room for him and his brother until they can find a place of their own.”

 

Gaster nodded slowly. There really wasn’t any use arguing. Besides - another assistant would be helpful and may speed up his progress on the CORE.

 

“Excellent. I’ll bring him in tomorrow.” The king’s features softened as he lost his formality. “And Gaster… thank you for putting your all into this. The entire underground thanks you.”

 

The lines on the tall man’s face began to softly glow at the praise, but he quickly ducked away from the goat’s knowing smile.

 

_‘I need to return to my work.’_

 

With the slightest chuckle, Asgore gave a small hello to a flustered Alphys and began to hum as he left the lab.

 

—

 

Gaster carefully examined the slender tube in his hands, feeling at ease as his SOUL seemed to beat in time with the beeping from the monitor beside him. He glanced over, making sure the specimen count was still reading. He quickly used a bony thumb to wipe away a smudge from the edge of the screen. _There shouldn’t be any mess in a work area_ , he thought.

 

The sliding of the outer doors caught his attention, but he kept his back turned, subtly ignoring the rest of the world. If he wanted any hope of making sure the controlled reactions of the CORE’s inner workings were, well, controlled, he needed to figure out how he could use these microorganisms to—

 

“Gaster.”

 

The test tube shattered onto the floor, spilling a cyan-coloured liquid around the scientist’s feet.

 

“Perhaps I should invest in some softer floors, for all the equipment you drop,” mused a deep voice behind him. The lanky figure whirled around to glare at his boss, but his gaze quickly fell onto the tiny figure beside him.

 

The newcomer was a skeleton, by the look of it. His eye sockets were black with the tiniest of pinpricks, not unlike Gaster’s own, and his broad chest filled out the top of his lab coat nicely. The bottom, however, touched the floor like a ballroom gown. It would seem the Royal Scientist had given all the smaller coats to Alphys, who had come in earlier, taken some scrap metal, and left. Of course she hadn’t wanted to be here to interact with a new monster.

 

The king gave the skeleton a gentle push on the back, like a father encouraging his son to make friends. The little monster smiled wide and easily stuck out a hand as he sidled up to his new boss.

 

“Name’s Sans,” he talked like they were old friends. Gaster lifted an eyebrow and frowned before stepping back and examining the assistant.

 

Sans awkwardly stood there as the taller figure leaned over him, an unreadable expression creasing his features. Asgore cleared his throat and gave the scientist an equally undecipherable look.

 

“Sans,” he said smoothly, not taking his eyes off his old friend, “this is Dr. W. D. Gaster. Our Royal Scientist. Very gifted in his work.”

 

“A pleasure to meet you, Dr. Gaster,” the skeleton left his arm out, trying to be more polite and formal. “I’ve heard all about you.”

 

Again, the scientist said nothing. The tension in the air was palpable as Sans rocked back onto his heels.

 

“You know, I’d tell you a science-y joke to break the ice, but… all the good ones argon!”

 

Gaster stared at him for a moment, looking quizzical, before he turned his attention back to Asgore - who was looking wistfully into space, as though the joke had reminded him of something.

 

_‘You say he’s good?’_

 

The king’s attention fell back onto the scientist. “The best New Home has to offer.”

 

Sans looked perplexed at the hand gestures. “Can’t you talk?” he asked bluntly.

 

Asgore let out a quiet squeak, but Gaster cracked the tiniest of smiles before shaking his head. The little skeleton had a rather smug grin on, and Gaster quickly chided himself for goofing off at work - there was too much to do. He dismissed Asgore with a wave of his hand, and motioned for his new assistant to follow him.

 

Something told him this was going to be trying.


End file.
